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Nutella + cheese = ?

Before the salted caramel craze hit the food world in the noughties, the idea of adding a savoury hit to something intended to be sweet was revolutionary to all but the most adventurous cooks. Now, since Heston Blumenthal’s bacon-and-egg ice cream and the Internet’s slightly less gastronomically inclined ice-cream ramen, we’re game to try anything.

But are we ready for Nutella on cheese? Cheese, the most glorious of all dairy products; Nutella, the most widely hailed ruler of chocolate spreads? Is the combo any good, or merely an insult to both parties? After seeing an Instagram post claiming that Nutella on cheese (or Chutella) is so delicious that the Lord ‘had to make Lance Armstrong, Crocs and the Dave Matthews Band just to balance things out’, we have to investigate further.

Chutella fan @Sad_Ivan likes to remove the middle man by dolloping the spread straight onto cheese slices, but you could get inventive with anything from grilled cheese-and-Nutella sandwiches to s’mores and even Nutella pizza. (There is no judgement here. I don’t know your life.)

After an impromptu raid of my cheese stash, I put the combo to the test.

Nutella + cheddar

Nope. It just tastes plastic, and kind of oddly sour. To be honest, that’s probably just the fault of the cheese, which was bought purely for melting over nachos. (The zingy luminous powder that covers my favourite blue Doritos usually obliterates any other flavours anyway, which is why I let my standards drop in this instance.) Nutella would possibly fare much better with a more mature cheddar. Moving along.

Nutella + maasdam

Oh! This is actually great. The nutty sweetness of the Dutch cheese emphasises the hazelnut profile of the spread. Very creamy mouthfeel and a joy to eat.

Nutella + parmesan

Quite complex, with the salty, umami flavour of the parmesan coming through very strongly. The harder cheese works well with the soft Nutella, providing good contrasting textures. But I can’t help mourning for the melanzane parmigiana I could have had instead.

Nutella + aged gouda

Very tasty, but very sweet. Little crystals of saltiness, thanks to the 20 months of ageing (this cheese does not mess around) complement the chocolate. The gorgeous crumbly texture makes it an unsuitable substrate for spreading, however, and tainting it with anything out of a plastic jar just feels sinful.

Nutella + halloumi

Could be palatable if the cheese was fried in butter, but I don’t have the heart to follow through.

Nutella + feta

To use cricketing parlance, did not bat. (For its own good as much as mine.)

The verdict

Chutella is probably best enjoyed at 3am or 3pm when you’re feeling snacky and reckless, but you’d need to have a jar of Nutella ‘lying around’, the willpower of a saint and the constitution of an ox.

Have you tried it yourself? Let us know what you think – and maybe we can make #Chutella happen on Instagram.